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Freshwater animals

Freshwater environments such as rivers, lakes, ponds and marshes support very different animals. Some spend almost their whole lives swimming, while others live on the banks and enter the water for food or protection.

Which animals use freshwater?

Examples include frogs, freshwater turtles, beavers, otters, crayfish, piranhas, alligators, some crocodiles, coypus, hippopotamuses and water shrews. These animals illustrate the importance of rivers, lakes and wetlands.

alligator

AlligatorAlligator

Silvery asp with an elongated body and large mouth, seen from the side underwater

AspLeuciscus aspius

Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) swimming in an aquarium

Atlantic salmonSalmo salar

beaver

BeaverCastor fiber; Castor canadensis

Large grey beluga sturgeon with a short snout, barbels and rows of bony plates swimming in blue water

Beluga sturgeonHuso huso

Blue and red betta fish with long, spread fins in an aquarium

Betta fishBetta splendens

Dark grey Ancistrus with pale spots resting on gravel at the bottom of an aquarium

Bristlenose plecoAncistrus

Brown trout (Salmo trutta), showing its spotted body and body shape.

Brown troutSalmo trutta

Grey-olive caiman resting on a riverbank

CaimanCaimaninae

Capybara with brown fur and a broad muzzle

CapybaraHydrochoerus hydrochaeris

Common barbel with an elongated snout and mouth barbels swimming near the bottom

Common barbelBarbus barbus

Silvery common bream showing its deep, laterally flattened body underwater

Common breamAbramis brama

Common carp showing its large scales and barbels beside the mouth

Common carpCyprinus carpio

Common kingfisher in flight with blue wings spread and a long pointed bill

Common kingfisherAlcedo atthis

Common moorhen with a red forehead, yellow-tipped bill and long green toes

Common moorhenGallinula chloropus

Silvery common roach with an orange-red iris and reddish lower fins

Common roachRutilus rutilus

Common toad with warty skin and copper eyes sitting on a rock

Common toadBufo bufo

Corydoras catfish with a dark white-spotted body and orange fins on the aquarium floor

Corydoras catfishCorydoras

coypu

CoypuMyocastor coypus

crayfish

CrayfishAstacoidea and Parastacoidea (freshwater crayfish)

crocodile

CrocodileCrocodylidae

Blue discus with a round body, red eye and fine fin markings

DiscusSymphysodon

Dark grey Eurasian coot with a red eye and white forehead standing on a bank

Eurasian cootFulica atra

European chub with large scales, an elongated body and a broad head in an aquarium

European chubSqualius cephalus

European eel (Anguilla anguilla) with a long body and fins continuous around the tail

European eelAnguilla anguilla

European perch (Perca fluviatilis) viewed from the side underwater

European perchPerca fluviatilis

Bright green tree frog with a dark side stripe clinging to a twig

European tree frogHyla arborea

Silver freshwater angelfish with orange patches and dark markings beside aquatic plants

Freshwater angelfishPterophyllum scalare

frog

Grey-brown round goby with a large head and high-set eyes resting on a bed of mussels

Goldfish (Carassius auratus) with orange scales

GoldfishCarassius auratus

Silvery-blue gourami with a dark spot on its side and white-spotted fins

GouramiTrichopodus

Coiled grass snake, Natrix natrix, with pale patches behind the head

Grass snakeNatrix natrix

Male guppy with blue-green markings and a patterned yellow tail among aquatic plants

GuppyPoecilia reticulata

hippopotamus

HippopotamusHippopotamus amphibius

Bright orange koi with black spots swimming in grey water

KoiCyprinus rubrofuscus

A Hirudo leech with an elongated body and longitudinal markings

manatee

ManateeTrichechus spp.

Grey, finely spotted mollies swimming among green aquatic plants

MollyPoecilia sphenops

Neon tetra with a bright blue stripe and red lower rear half

Neon tetraParacheirodon innesi

Northern pike (Esox lucius), showing its elongated snout and pale body markings.

Northern pikeEsox lucius

Large dark Oscar fish with orange patches and a red eye on a black background

Oscar fishAstronotus ocellatus

otter

OtterLutrinae; Lutra lutra is the Eurasian otter, Lontra canadensis the North American river otter

piranha

PiranhaSerrasalmidae: piranhas, including Pygocentrus and Serrasalmus

Old illustration of a Pontic shad, an elongated fish with large scales and a forked tail

Pontic shadAlosa immaculata

Prussian carp seen from the side underwater

Prussian carpCarassius gibelio

White-spotted pufferfish with a small mouth swimming beside coral in blue water

PufferfishTetraodontidae

Water turtle with yellow stripes and a red patch behind the eye on a rock

Red-eared sliderTrachemys scripta elegans

Smooth newt (Lissotriton vulgaris) on damp ground

Smooth newtLissotriton vulgaris

Yellow platy with red tones, a red head and black-edged fins on a dark background

Southern platyfishXiphophorus maculatus

Sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus), a sturgeon with a pointed snout and bony scutes

SturgeonAcipenseridae

Olive-green tench with a reddish eye swimming underwater

TenchTinca tinca

turtle

TurtleTestudines

water shrew

Water shrewNeomys fodiens

Wels catfish (Silurus glanis) swimming underwater

Wels catfishSilurus glanis

Zander (Sander lucioperca) with its elongated body and large eyes

ZanderSander lucioperca

Several small, slender zebrafish with blue and silver stripes along the body

ZebrafishDanio rerio